Eleuthere Irenee DuPont

Birth	24 JUN 1771
Org.	1814
Death	31 OCT 1834
Grave

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) arrived in America from France in 1800. In 1802, he settled near Wilmington, DE, along the Brandywine River, where he founded E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Although he made his livelihood from the production of black powder explosives, he considered himself a botanist. Trained in botany and horticulture in Paris, he took an immediate interest in the plants he found in the Delaware Valley's forests and gardens. He created a large formal flower and vegetable garden at his home, Eleutherian Mills, today part of the Hagley Museum and Library.

"When I began building my establishment here it was like settling in the back country, no road, no decent house, no garden... being without... Read More